‘How it feels to be Colored me’ is an essay written by Zora Neale Hurston after several observations and experiences with ‘labeling’. The essay was written in 1927 just about the time when African American had done all they could including founding independent towns in order to escape racial prejudice. Zora grew up in one of these towns-Eatonville founded by the African Americans- the Negro. She never so much about racial prejudice and this is thought to have influenced her reaction on her color. Her essay clearly portrays her satisfaction and inner happiness and peace with her black color. William and Fekedu in ‘Flight Patterns’ also undergo certain experiences by virtue of their being colored, their experiences are different but with some similarity. The short story that focuses on William and Fekadu also gives a description of racial stereotypes based on the experiences of mainly two characters- Willium and Fekadu- who are also at peace with their color but are still confronted with stereotypes.
The experiences of Nora, Willium and Fekadu have certain similarities since they are all confronted with the issues regarding different perceptions of racial prejudice. Nora had not experienced much of this in her early years until she was thirteen and had to go to a school which admitted pupils from different races. It is at this point that she realizes that her dark color pigmentation actually influences how people treat her- she was regarded as a granddaughter of a slave. William who is a Native American is confronted with the fact that people perceive him as being racial at the airport. This is a prejudice and William clearly tells them that the fact that his being white does not mean he has prejudices against other races. ‘I am Native American and therefore have ten thousand more reasons to terrorize the U.S. than any of those Taliban jerks-off’ he says in a sarcastic way. Fekadu on the other hand is Ethiopian and also has his experiences as far as racial prejudice is concerned.
Zora, Willium and Fekadu happen to be all Americans- Nora and William by birth and Fekadu by immigration. They live in a country where racism as take roots and somehow there is no race that does not feel its effects. Despite of this fact, none of them feels sorry about her color, they only think that they should not be labeled based on the fact that they are White, black or red. At some point Zora explains that there is a time when she never looks at herself as having a race. She is just her. This explains a lot because perhaps she realized that responding to this racial discrimination in a remorseful way makes her also to be a racist.
The reaction of Zora on the issue pertaining to racial discrimination and stereotypes is a little different compared with that of William and Fekadu. Nora’s reaction when discriminated against does not depict anger. She says that she never feels angry and instead she feels astonished that someone could refuse to have a company. William reaction to the stereotype is that of a response towards it. He explains that while at the airport that he also looks for ‘brown skinned people’ perhaps because they have the same feelings and experience but he feels bad when people are looking at him suspiciously. Fekadu seems not to put much attention on the stereotypes, though he realizes that at some point as much as he wants to fight the issue of stereotype he is also stereotyped in a way. Fekadu stereotypes Willium religiously ‘Not so dark, but too dark to be white’ (Booth, pg92) denotes some form of stereotyping.
In conclusion, racial discrimination and prejudice is an aspect that affects people whether or not they want it or not. The experiences of Zora, William and Fekadu clearly shows just how fighting racial stereotypes can be hard in a society that is so rooted in racial issues.
Work cited
Booth, Alison and Kelly J. Mays. The Norton Introduction to Literature, 10th Edition. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010, 52-64. Print
